Poojacque Posted July 19, 2022 #1 Share Posted July 19, 2022 We were thinking of going to Punta Tombo Penguin Reserve to see the penguins. Other than The Falkland Islands to see the King penguins, are any other sites better than Port Madryn for seeing these fun little creatures? thanks Poojacque Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BermudaBound2014 Posted July 19, 2022 #2 Share Posted July 19, 2022 I was booked on HAL's Westerdam Antarctica trip for January of 2021. Obviously that was cancelled but I did a ton of research. There are some great threads here which link to even better blogs: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/370-antarctica/ Have fun!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poojacque Posted July 19, 2022 Author #3 Share Posted July 19, 2022 Thank you. I’m heading to these posts and blogs now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir PMP Posted July 19, 2022 #4 Share Posted July 19, 2022 Here's a golden tip since you live nearby, I assume you will stop in Punta Arenas, Chile. Take the slow boat trip to Isla Magdalena, and you will be walking in the middle of lots of Magellan penquins. Don't tell any one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulders Posted July 19, 2022 #5 Share Posted July 19, 2022 Volunteer Point in the Falklands had several species of penguins, not just the Kings. That was sooo much better than the Chilean ports. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poojacque Posted July 19, 2022 Author #6 Share Posted July 19, 2022 Thank you. Hope we get into that port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poojacque Posted July 19, 2022 Author #7 Share Posted July 19, 2022 Boulders….Thank you. Hope we get into that port. Sir PMP: wow you are close by! Thanks for the tip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuAnn Posted July 19, 2022 #8 Share Posted July 19, 2022 40 minutes ago, boulders said: Volunteer Point in the Falklands had several species of penguins, not just the Kings. That was sooo much better than the Chilean ports. I so agree! Patrick Watts tour we think is our best shore excursion ever! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loreto Posted July 19, 2022 #9 Share Posted July 19, 2022 1 hour ago, Sir PMP said: Here's a golden tip since you live nearby, I assume you will stop in Punta Arenas, Chile. Take the slow boat trip to Isla Magdalena, and you will be walking in the middle of lots of Magellan penquins. Don't tell any one. I agree! We took the ferry to Magdalena Island with HAL and it was an unbelievable experience...Thousands of penguins! We also went to a beach in the Falklands...North Pond (or something like that) it took some time to get there. Lots of different penguins and a rookery. Lucky you to be going...0ur 2nd trip was cancelled in 2020.🙁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AryMay Posted July 19, 2022 #10 Share Posted July 19, 2022 (edited) Another option for Puerto Madryn would be to go to El Pedral. We did this tour in 2019 and loved it! The small group tour included a meal...lamb roasted over an open fire. We were up close and personal with hundreds (maybe thousands!) of magellanic penguins and saw other wildlife too. I will note that the day we were there it was sweltering...so hot that the poor penguins were panting. Here is a link to the El Pedral website: https://www.reservaelpedral.com/en/dia-campo-eng/ And a link to my blog with more details and lots more photos from our day: El Pedral Penguin Tour If seeing penguins is high on your list, you should book tours in more than one port. You never know when a port might get skipped due to weather. Edited July 19, 2022 by AryMay 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted July 19, 2022 #11 Share Posted July 19, 2022 The best place to see Penguins is from the deck of a HAL ship as it sails by Antarctica. Good binoculars help. But, even, without, your can see them. One even came out to greet the Zaandam as she sailed by. One bird was swimming by the ship as we were sailing. Thank goodness, I was at the right spot and and time to witness it. I booked an excursion in the Falklands to see some colonies. Don't remember where. But, it took a 4x4 to get there and was worth the experience. Be aware when you walk around the colony that the ground is very--very--soft. I was not careful enough and fell into the muck. After the staff retrieved me and I returned Port Stanley, the 4x4 driver told me: "You smell." When I got back aboard the Zaandam, everything I was wearing went to the laundry and I went into the shower. All turned out well. It was another memorable travel experience. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog Posted July 20, 2022 #12 Share Posted July 20, 2022 4 hours ago, LuAnn said: I so agree! Patrick Watts tour we think is our best shore excursion ever! Agree. We booked with Patrick Watts for Volunteer Point. So much fun! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalspin Posted July 20, 2022 #13 Share Posted July 20, 2022 (edited) We wanted to be sure to see penguins and Stanley is fairly often missed for weather, so we booked a combination Penguin Reserve and Sheep Station ship's tour at Punta Arenas Chile (Otway Sound). AND the 4x4 Penguin Colony (plus "tea" at local place) at Stanley. Fortunately we got to do both. I think we enjoyed the Otway Sound the most. It was a bit blustery and turned out the fact it was a ship's tour was priceless as they held the last Tender for us when a squall had blown up and stopped the ferry for some time from Otway/sheep ranch to the port. (The weather was perfect where we were!) Edited July 20, 2022 by crystalspin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TiogaCruiser Posted July 20, 2022 #14 Share Posted July 20, 2022 @crystalspin When was your trip? My understanding is that the penguins stopped going to Ottawa Sound sometime around 2015. We went in 2013. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalspin Posted July 20, 2022 #15 Share Posted July 20, 2022 16 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said: @crystalspin When was your trip? My understanding is that the penguins stopped going to Ottawa Sound sometime around 2015. We went in 2013. Oh No! Yes, our trip was 2014. I hadn't heard that colony was no more! 😞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poojacque Posted July 20, 2022 Author #16 Share Posted July 20, 2022 On 7/19/2022 at 3:56 PM, AryMay said: Another option for Puerto Madryn would be to go to El Pedral. We did this tour in 2019 and loved it! The small group tour included a meal...lamb roasted over an open fire. We were up close and personal with hundreds (maybe thousands!) of magellanic penguins and saw other wildlife too. I will note that the day we were there it was sweltering...so hot that the poor penguins were panting. Here is a link to the El Pedral website: https://www.reservaelpedral.com/en/dia-campo-eng/ And a link to my blog with more details and lots more photos from our day: El Pedral Penguin Tour If seeing penguins is high on your list, you should book tours in more than one port. You never know when a port might get skipped due to weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poojacque Posted July 20, 2022 Author #17 Share Posted July 20, 2022 Great information. Thank you. I can’t wait to read your blog. We have now booked two penguin tours just in case. when I was trying to book Volunteer Point one of the tour companies told me another ship is in the same day as we land. Everyone sold out and some with long wait lists. we ended up making volunteer point reservations through HAL excursions. No what we wanted but we are in. thank you sally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poojacque Posted July 20, 2022 Author #18 Share Posted July 20, 2022 21 hours ago, rkacruiser said: The best place to see Penguins is from the deck of a HAL ship as it sails by Antarctica. Good binoculars help. But, even, without, your can see them. One even came out to greet the Zaandam as she sailed by. One bird was swimming by the ship as we were sailing. Thank goodness, I was at the right spot and and time to witness it. I booked an excursion in the Falklands to see some colonies. Don't remember where. But, it took a 4x4 to get there and was worth the experience. Be aware when you walk around the colony that the ground is very--very--soft. I was not careful enough and fell into the muck. After the staff retrieved me and I returned Port Stanley, the 4x4 driver told me: "You smell." When I got back aboard the Zaandam, everything I was wearing went to the laundry and I went into the shower. All turned out well. It was another memorable travel experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poojacque Posted July 20, 2022 Author #19 Share Posted July 20, 2022 😄. It must have been an interesting return to the ship. thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TiogaCruiser Posted July 20, 2022 #20 Share Posted July 20, 2022 22 minutes ago, Poojacque said: Great information. Thank you. I can’t wait to read your blog. We have now booked two penguin tours just in case. when I was trying to book Volunteer Point one of the tour companies told me another ship is in the same day as we land. Everyone sold out and some with long wait lists. we ended up making volunteer point reservations through HAL excursions. No what we wanted but we are in. thank you sally I did that excursion with HAL, and I’m glad I did. As a lower star Mariner in an inside cabin. It would have been a long wait to get off the ship, and I likely would have missed a private tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted July 20, 2022 #21 Share Posted July 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Poojacque said: 😄. It must have been an interesting return to the ship. thank you. Other than the 4x4 driver (whom I was sitting next to), no one else said a peep. I got out of the mini-bus back to Port Stanley, headed for the tender dock and tendered back to the ship without the few guests around me on the tender or the crew as I boarded the ship saying anything. This experience was probably the most embarrassing thing that I have experienced during a cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKJonesy Posted July 20, 2022 #22 Share Posted July 20, 2022 If memory serves me, Volunteer Point on the Falklands booked up very early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuAnn Posted July 21, 2022 #23 Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/20/2022 at 2:57 PM, TiogaCruiser said: I did that excursion with HAL, and I’m glad I did. As a lower star Mariner in an inside cabin. It would have been a long wait to get off the ship, and I likely would have missed a private tour. Good point about the tenders!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broon Posted July 22, 2022 #24 Share Posted July 22, 2022 We went to Magdalena Island and walked among many, many penguins. Highly recommended shorex. Also, at the Falklands, we took the shorex to Bluff’s Cove….many penguins there, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted July 24, 2022 #25 Share Posted July 24, 2022 On 7/19/2022 at 12:44 PM, Poojacque said: We were thinking of going to Punta Tombo Penguin Reserve to see the penguins. Other than The Falkland Islands to see the King penguins, are any other sites better than Port Madryn for seeing these fun little creatures? thanks Poojacque Our favorite place to see penguins was in Antarctica where we saw 5 kinds in their natural environment for feeding and breeding . We also saw Whales , Orca and many other types of birds and tons of icebergs and glaciers . Here they are jumping on an iceberg A pod of Orca chasing a penguin The next best was on the Falkland Islands where we saw 3 kinds close up and with babies and eggs . Next best for us as Punta Tombo that also had close encounters with a Guanaco Magdalena Island was a long bumpy ride in a crowed hot boat with lots of people on the island for only about an hour to see 1 type of penguins . Instead we preferred the trip to the beauty of Patagonia with Torres Del Pines from the port of Punta Arenas . Our least favorite was Otway . A very long , crowded ride with the penguins seen at long distance . You may like to look at our full review with lots of photos and videos here : 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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